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MULTIPLE IDENTITIES VIA SPIRITUALITY, HISTORIES AND CULTURAL RE-PRESENTATIONS 187among the important aspects of the belief systems ofthe residents of Mount Merapi. Based on interviews,there are two main reasons why rituals are performed,namely: (1) as a means for the people to communicatewith the spirits that reside in the volcano; and, (2) tokeep people safe and prepared.Below are three examples of ceremonial rituals that thecommunity performs in relation to disasterpreparedness.Labuhan MerapiThe term labuhan comes from the Indonesian term,labuh, which means, “throwing”. The ceremony is allabout throwing/offering gifts to the spirits whoinhabit the sacred volcano. Labuhan Merapi is a twodayritual carried out during the 29 th day of Rajab ofthe Islamic calendar. It is performed the day after theanniversary of jumengan or the coronation of theSultan of Yogyakarta (Sholikhin 2009).The Javanese strongly believe in the existence of threekingdoms that supposedly govern their daily lives—Parangtritis Beach, Kraton, and Mount Merapi.Although there are juru kuncis in Mount Merapi andin Parangtritis Beach, Kraton, which is under theleadership of the Sultan who is also the Governor ofYogyakarta, is the only kingdom among the three thatis visible.To maintain balance of power and equilibrium in thethree kingdoms, rituals offerings such as labuhanMerapi are carried out. One supposed consequence ofperforming this ritual is to spare the people ofYogyakarta from disasters.In relation to the October-November 2010 eruptionof Mount Merapi, many residents blamed SultanHamengkubuwono X, the current Sultan ofYogyakarta, for his modern and rational beliefs thatoften disregard age-old cultural traditions.Likewise, the insufficient offering of the Sultan to thespirits in Mount Merapi was blamed for the 1994eruption. The palace thereafter said that the 1994eruption was the end of the tawar-menawar ornegotiation period with the spirits. Dove (2006)wrote, “it was a considerable tolerance, according tothe spiritual leader compared to have its eruption atnight time, which will entail much more casualties”.On the other hand, Triyoga (2010) offered a differentperspective on the origin of the labuhan ceremony. Heheld that it could be traced back to the reign of theBuddhist King, Sitiwaka Gilingannya. During his rule,disasters and plagues were prevalent. As a result, thekingdom and the people were deeply troubled.Consequently, the king sent Radhi Brahmans to carryout the Rajawedha offering in his name and that of hisentire family. Afterward, the kingdom became freefrom famine, disease, and disasters. The soil becamefertile; while the king, his family, and the peoplebecame prosperous (Triyoga 2010).Other kingdomslearned of this story and practiced it. The practice wasthen passed on to the succeeding generations of rulersof the Kingdom.Malam 1 SuroMalam means “night” while Suro is the first month ofMuharram of the Islamic calendar. While Christiansall over the world welcome the New Year with partiesand celebrations, the Javanese,for their part, consecratethe changing of time (New Year’s Eve).Similar with the Labuhan Merapi, during Malam 1Suro, people bring offerings to the ancestral spirits as asign of thanksgiving for the blessings received theprevious year and to request the spirits to bless themagain in the coming year.The Malam 1 Suro of 2010, which took place on 5December 2010, became very special for the residents,precisely because of the then recent eruption of MountMerapi. Aside from being a form of thanksgiving, theritual became a venue for them to ask Allah and thespirits to deliver the people from misfortune, such asanother volcanic explosion.Becekan LaharFinally, another ritual carried out for the safety andprotection of the people from disasters, particularlyfrom a lava disaster, is the becekan lahar (lava ritualceremony). According to Sholikhin (2009), this ritualis done by pouring the milk of young coconut into theriver where the lava is expected to flow.Sulyanto (2010) narrated, “People usually hear strangenoises at night or in their dreams. The sound is that ofa golden train passing. The people interpret this as asign that the Kingdom of Merapi is sending forth anThe Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows
188 Panel 4entourage to marry one of its relatives living in theParangtritis Beach. People adjudge that the noise is asignal that lava would soon pass”. In response, thepeople have to perform the ritual.In the same spirit as the labuhan Merapi and Malam 1Suro ceremonies, the becekan lahar capitalizes on theconcept of balance and harmony between humanbeings and nature. However, whereas the earlier tworituals are performed annually, the second is carriedout only when there is an impending lava disaster.From the aforementioned ceremonial rituals, we canconclude that: (1) culture shapes people’s actionstoward natural hazards; and, (2) the actions performedby the people (through rituals) are deemed to keepthem safe and reduce the risk of disasters.PerceptionsThe dwellers of Mount Merapi have their ownappreciation of the volcano. Many residents view theperiodic activities of the volcano in light of theircultural mores rather than science. Scientists view thispropensity of the dwellers as indicative of low-riskperception (Lavigne et al. 2008), cultural vulnerability,and risk denial.Following the 2010 eruption of Mount Merapi, severalinterpretations regarding its explosion surfaced. Forinstance, the state officials responsible for updating thepublic on the situation revealed that the biggest lavadome explosion (November 5, 2010) is part of the100-year eruption cycle of the volcano (the 1930s wasthe last recorded time during which Mount Merapierupted with the same intensity. Several residents sharethe same insight, which phenomenon is credited to thedisaster socialization efforts undertaken by thegovernment to debunk the people’s reliance on mythinsofar as eruptions are concerned.Whenever there is an impending eruption, it alwaysproves difficult for the government to evacuate people.Sunarto (2010) said that, “The residents generallyplace more confidence on cultural leaders than on thegovernment because of their strong culturalattachment”. Additionally, Endri (2010) revealed that,“Since people were born in Mount Merapi and grewup in the area, they are immensely bonded in the area.They believe that the place is where they truly belong”.Given this reality, Endri and his team do not forcethemselves too much on those residents who do notwant to go down to the temporary shelters, in order tospare these residents from whatever trauma that mayarise from being coerced to relocate.So how do those with a non-scientific mindset viewvolcanic eruptions? How do their perception andcultural explanations of natural hazards affect(determine) disaster preparedness? The narrations ofthe residents, as well as data from secondary literature.were woven together to come up with themes relatingto the people’s perceptions of volcanic eruptions.These are:1. Volcanic eruptions mirror the condition of Indonesiansociety and serve as agents of change.Life in Mount Merapi mirrors or resembles theeveryday life of the Javanese (Dove 1986, 2006, 2010;and Dove and Hudyana 2007). Any uneasiness in thenatural world is understood as signifying uneasiness inthe social and political worlds (Dove 2006). The 1994eruption of Mount Merapi was considered theprecursor of Suharto’s downfall (Dove 2006, 239). It isbelieved that Indonesia at that time faced financial,political, and environmental problems, which led tothe fall of Suharto (Dove 2006, 239). Considering thisand as Dove (2006) argues, in the case of MountMerapi, any volcanic activity is seen as an agent ofchange.2. Volcanic eruptions serve to reprimand and warnleaders and their people.Istiyanto (2010) revealed that, “The eruption wasdeemed to be a way for the volcano to reprimand theSultan for his modern beliefs and very rationalthinking that often disregard the Javanese traditionsand give insufficient offerings to the spirits”. Henarrated that, “The spirits are enraged by the currentSultan because of his lack of charisma and hisinefficiency in governing the people of Yogyakarta”.Schlehe (2010) said that the eruptions sought toremind and warn the Sultan of his traditional role andmodern ways, which means traditions need to berevived, most especially in the modern world.On the other hand, Tika (2010) said that, “The cycleof volcanic activities warns the people to protect theenvironment and natural resources. It reminds thepeople to balance life vertically (our relationship withGod) and horizontally (our relationship with natureand fellow human beings)”. According to Tika, “TheJavanese subscribe to the precepts called cegah manganThe Work of the 2010/2011 API Fellows
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CULTURE, POWER AND PRACTICES:THE GL
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viABOUT THE BOOKCULTURE, POWER AND
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viiiACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe API Coordin
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x(co-authored with Gunawan Wiradi,
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xiiSri Wahyuni is the director of t
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xivThe gap between rich and poor is
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xviand development mainly: Economy,
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xviiiIn closing, I would like to qu
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xxmovements to defend their rights,
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xxiicomplex relationships between f
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xxivIndonesian Academy of Social Sc
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MULTIPLE MODERNITIES: GLOBALIZATION
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FLUX AND FLOWS OF PEOPLE, POWER AND
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OPENING REMARKS AND OVERVIEWDr. Rat
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247There is also a massive movement
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249need to be looked at, as globali
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251Appendix IWorkshop ScheduleThe T
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25313:00 - 15:00 Concluding PanelCh
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255THAILANDAroon Puritat, Artist an
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257RAPPORTEURSGarry MorrisonMarian
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Communication, Education and Public
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261have used tourism as a mechanism
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263Panel 4: Multiple Modernities vi
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265out how Asian women politicians
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267CONTACT DETAILS (as of March 201
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